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Thursday, January 16, 2014

Yesterday I raved about the new M.A.C Viva Glam Rihanna
lipstick and lipglass release arriving soon, and here’s a little more to get
you excited… a chat with the lady herself about the whys and wherefores of her
involvement.

1. Why did you decide to work with M·A·C and VIVA GLAM?

I’ve always been drawn to M·A·C because it isn’t a
judgmental brand and I relate to that because I don’t consider myself
judgmental. We both love having fun and we’re not ashamed of that.

We’re not afraid to talk about sex and we want to encourage
young people to be safe. HIV/AIDS is something that can be avoided. I think
people just have to be aware of that. Nobody is protected from it. There’s not
any religion or any culture or any race or any generation that cannot get AIDS
or HIV. We all have to take responsibility for ourselves and get tested to know
our status, and spread the word.

2. Why HIV/AIDS? And why are you focusing on young people?

HIV/AIDS has been a big epidemic for my generation-- it’s
been around for as long as I’ve been alive. Nearly half of the new people
infected are 24 years old and under, and most of them are females. As a young
female I think it’s important that young people know there’s nothing wrong with
having fun, nobody is telling us to be square or be boring, but we have to be
safe. Young people, we have this thing about us, this invincibility, because
we’re young and we’re growing up and we want to have fun, and we want to be
crazy, and nothing’s wrong with that unless you’re not being responsible. It’s
important for us to open our eyes and take control of our health and our
bodies.

I wanted to lend my voice to create something that would
truly make a difference. With M·A·C VIVA GLAM, every penny of the cost of the
lipstick goes to the M·A·C AIDS Fund, which directly goes to people who are
affected by HIV and AIDS around the world. To-date the M·A·C AIDS Fund has
raised more than $315 million USD…that’s a lot of lipsticks.

3. How do you suggest people start educating themselves,
especially in those countries that don’t speak much about HIV/AIDS?

I think that one of the biggest ways to increase awareness
right now on any topic of course is via social media, word of mouth, getting
into the communities and really speaking to people. But it starts with you. It
starts with your personal status, it starts with your efforts and what are you doing
to protect yourself, and what are you doing to protect others, even if you are
infected. We all have to readjust our thinking. It’s hard to imagine, but we
cant think of HIV/AIDS as being somebody else’s story. It could be any of ours.

4. You started out working with M·A·C as its first ever
Creative Partner and created several collections. Did you know then that you
were going to be the next VIVA GLAM spokesperson?

After the success of the RiRi Woo and really the reactions
to all my lipsticks, we started talking about doing VIVA GLAM. It made so much
sense. We thought, if these lipsticks were so successful, imagine how much we
could help people with HIV and AIDS. The stars were certainly aligned.

5. How is VIVA GLAM Rihanna different from RiRi Woo?

RiRi Woo was the very first product I created in my
partnership with M·A·C - it’s a true matte red. Since my fans really loved it,
and I know that women love red lips right now, I knew I wanted create do
something in that red tone and just upgrade it a bit. So for VIVA GLAM Rihanna,
I added a little bit of frost, so the texture is more shiny- not as matte as
RiRi Woo. And because 100 percent of the sales price goes to the M·A·C AIDS
Fund, it was very important that this lipstick could work on many different
complexions. At M·A·C we like to say, buy a lipstick, save a life.

6. Why is lipstick your favorite makeup product?

To me makeup is a major accessory. It can change an outfit,
it can make the outfit, it can be the outfit, and that’s why I like to play
with it. Lipstick can glam up a whole look-- especially in red

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By Helene Ravlich

About the author:

Helene Ravlich is a freelance writer based in Auckland, New Zealand. A self-confessed beauty fanatic with over fifteen years in the business of writing about all things pretty and beautiful, she has a passion for organic formulations and high performance skincare and is constantly on the search for THE perfect red lipstick. Mum to eight year old whirlwind Wolf, she has written for magazines, websites and newspapers in New Zealand and internationally and loves music, dogs and a good red wine.

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The work on PB is copyright. Apart from use permitted under the Copyright Act, no part may be reproduced by any process, nor may any other exclusive right be exercised without the permission of Helene Ravlich, 2009.

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